Conventionally, a semiconductor device is known which includes a plurality of semiconductor chips and in which non-contact communication can be performed between the semiconductor chips. In the semiconductor device, each semiconductor chip includes a transmission unit, a transmission coil, a reception coil, and a reception unit. A transmission signal of one semiconductor chip is transmitted to another semiconductor chip via the transmission unit and the transmission coil. The transmission signal that has been transmitted via the transmission unit and the transmission coil is received as a reception signal via a reception coil and a reception unit of another semiconductor chip (refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2). Communication between one semiconductor chip and another semiconductor chip is non-contact communication because the communication is performed by magnetic coupling (inductive coupling) of the transmission coil and the reception coil.
It is known that the semiconductor device in which non-contact communication can be performed between the semiconductor chips is used for a neuro-semiconductor device (refer to Patent Document 2). The neuro-semiconductor device is a semiconductor device having a function imitating a function of human cerebral nerve cells and it is sometimes referred to as a neuro-synaptic processing unit. The neuro-semiconductor device includes a plurality of neuron portions and a plurality of synaptic connection portions. In addition, in the neuro-semiconductor device, the plurality of neuron portions are connected via the plurality of synaptic connection portions. In the neuro-semiconductor device of Patent Document 2, the two coils performing the non-contact communication configure a part of synaptic connection.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2010-15654
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. H06-243117